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Southern Nevada’s top wide receiver/pass catcher countdown — No. 1

Liberty’s Ethan Dedeaux comes in at No. 1 on our #NVprepsfb list of Southern Nevada’s top five wide receivers/pass catchers.

To create the list, we spoke with coaches from the Sunrise and Sunset Regions in both 4A and 3A. A couple of the base questions were: “Who is the top high school wide receiver/pass catcher today?” and “Who would you pick to start a team?”

Then we grabbed the statistics from last season, looked at the player’s collective rankings on recruiting websites and used our own judgment to fill holes.

This resulted in the #NVprepsfb wide receiver/pass catcher rank. The list is based off high school productivity and not college or professional potential. Stay tuned for our defensive player list that will be unveiled next week.

#NVprepsfb Wide Receiver/Pass Catcher Rank: Liberty’s Ethan Dedeaux No. 1

Class

2017

Vitals

5 feet, 9 inches; 175 pounds

Honors

Second-team all-state (2015); Northeast League Offensive Most Valuable Player (2015); first-team all-Northeast League (2015, 2014); first-team all-state (2014)

Recruiting

Dedeaux, who is a three-star recruit on Rivals.com, committed to San Diego State on June 26. He also has scholarship offers from Idaho, Northern Arizona, Hawaii, New Mexico and UNLV.

Last Year’s Stats

Dedeaux caught 37 passes for 809 yards and 11 touchdowns and also rushed for 237 yards and four scores. He intercepted five passes, returning one for a touchdown, and finished with 18 tackles.

What they are saying?

— “He’s the best public school player we’ve seen,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s the one kid that we have to game plan around very, very specifically. You can’t kick him the ball in the kicking game. You have to double-team him as a receiver. He’s just a stud.”

— “We definitely know he’s a presence when we play them,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s a dynamic football player that can make something out of nothing.”

— “He’s just a football player. He’s a stud,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s just not very big. But once you get him the ball in space, he’s definitely a top kid and football player.”

— “He’s got a good talent set for his size,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He kind of reminds me of a Wes Welker-type. He’s not big, but he’ll run good routes and catch the ball.”

— “He’s a good slot receiver,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “Lacks top-end speed, but catches everything. Very technical and smart. He’s a good football player.”

— “He’s legit. I saw him in the regional game last year,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s quick. He’s not very big, but he’s a hell of a slot receiver. (Centennial’s Savon) Scarver is faster, but he’s more swirly.”

— —

#NVprepsfb Wide Receiver/Pass Catcher Rank: Centennial’s Savon Scarver No. 2

Class

2017

Vitals

6 feet, 0 inches; 180 pounds

Honors

Second-team all-state (2015); first-team all-Northwest League (2015, 2014)

Recruiting

Scarver, who is a three-star recruit on Scout.com, has scholarship offers from Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, UNLV and UNR.

Last Year’s Stats

Scarver caught 51 passes for 896 yards and 11 TDs for the Bulldogs, who made it to the Sunset Region semifinals.

What they are saying?

— “Very talented athlete,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “Probably one of the best receivers in town. Tough matchup with him and (quarterback Jamaal) Evans.”

— “He’s a burner. Flat out love the kid,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He has hurt us and it’s not by coincidence. If you don’t double cover him, and even if you do, he’s still going to get some. He’s legit. He’s going to play on Saturdays.”

— “Elusive and explosive,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s a track guy. He’s going to either go by you in deep routes or be elusive and make plays. He’s probably the fastest of all the receivers.”

— “He’s going to be fine at the next level,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s good with his feet. He’ll have a lot of (scholarship) offers. He’s a matchup problem.”

— “That Scarver kid is good,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He started dinking and dunking and probably scored twice on us (last season).”

— —

#NVprepsfb Wide Receiver/Pass Catcher Rank: Desert Pines’ Randal Grimes No. 3

Class

2017

Vitals

6 feet, 5 inches; 205 pounds

Honors

All-state honorable mention (2015); Division I-A first-team all-state (2015, 2014); first-team all-Southern Region (2015); first-team all-Sunrise Region (2015); first-team all-Sunset Region (2014)

Recruiting

Grimes, who is a consensus three-star recruit, committed to Southern California on April 16. He also has scholarship offers from Arizona State, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Hawaii, Missouri, Oregon State, San Diego State, Tennessee, UNLV, Utah and Washington State.

Last Year’s Stats

Grimes had 26 receptions for 548 yards and seven touchdowns for the Jaguars. He averaged 21.08 yards per catch, and finished with 10 total touchdowns.

What they are saying?

— “Grimes is the best athlete. He’s a freak,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “His downfall is Desert Pines has so many weapons that he can’t get the ball as much as he should. It’s not because he doesn’t have the tools.”

— “He beat Arbor View by himself (last season) on three fake punts,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “I saw the film. Grimes decided to pull it down (each time). The reality of that game was Arbor View did really well, but Grimes was a difference maker. He’s a specimen.”

— “I think Randal Grimes has NFL potential,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “The other guys will be good college players. Randal has the most upside of anyone in this city. The way he runs is off the charts. He looks like an Andre Johnson right now. He’s one of those kids that can play any position.”

— “Randall Grimes is just a monster,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s definitely going to be special for them.”

— “Because of his size, he’s a threat in the open field,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He can be a game changer. If that quarterback puts it up within the vicinity, he’ll just make things happen.”

— —

#NVprepsfb Wide Receiver/Pass Catcher Rank: Liberty’s Marquez Powell No. 4

Class

2018

Vitals

6 feet, 4 inches; 175 pounds

Honors

All-state honorable mention (2015); first-team All-Southeast League (2015)

Recruiting

Powell has one scholarship offer from Hawaii.

Last Year’s Stats

Powell had 46 receptions for 593 yards and eight touchdowns for Green Valley last season.

What they are saying?

— “He’s just a great athlete,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “Very thin, but he’s got good ball skills and he’s a tall kid. He’s impressive.”

— “I think he was better than (Green Valley teammate Isiah Macklin) last season,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “And (Macklin) went to San Diego State.”

— “Good, fast, athletic, tall kid,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s got that height going from him. Most coaches I’ve talked to love him.”

— —

#NVprepsfb Wide Receiver/Pass Catcher Rank: Bishop Gorman’s Brevin Jordan No. 5

Class

2018

Vitals

6 feet, 2 inches; 210 pounds

Honors

Second-team All-Southwest League (2015)

Recruiting

Jordan, who is a consensus four-star prospect, holds scholarship offers from Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado, Louisville, Oklahoma, Southern California, Texas A&M, UNLV and UCLA. He is the No. 1 tight end in the country, according to Scout.com.

Last Year’s Stats

Jordan had 10 receptions for 166 yards and four touchdowns. He also had one carry for eight yards for the Gaels, who had Southern Nevada’s top rusher (Biaggio Ali Walsh) and receiver (Tyjon Lindsey).

What they are saying?

— “He’s like 6’4 (sic) and when they throw him a ball, it’s a man playing with boys,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s just young.”

— “Very good. He’s the real deal,” one Sunset Region football coach said.

— “Hard to know what he’s going to turn into,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “But if he’s at Gorman, he’ll get a lot of (scholarship) offers.”

If you want to get involved in the discussion, #NVprepsfb is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @nevadapreps.

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